Government updates position of unpaid carers to receive vaccine
The latest independent report Priority groups for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination: advice from the JCVI, 30 December 2020 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended to the Government that for those unpaid carers who are ‘in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, should also be offered vaccination alongside these groups’should be included in Priority 6 in phase 1 of the vaccine roll-out.
The wording in the Government vaccination priority list still causes some confusion by referencing the ‘residents in a care home for older adults and their carers’ to be the first priority to receive the vaccine, please note that it has been clarified and refers to paid care workers in residential homes, not unpaid carers.
Whilst extremely positive, the report and advice within the report…‘is provided to facilitate the development of policy on COVID-19 vaccination in the UK’ and is not current Government policy.
Current advice on the NHS page https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/ is:
- Wait to be contacted: The NHS will let you know when it’s your turn to have the vaccine. It’s important not to contact the NHS for a vaccination before then’ and
- You must be registered with a GP: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps/how-to-register-with-a-gp-surgery/
Ensure that your GP surgery is aware that you are an unpaid carer. We are seeking further clarification of how this might affect unpaid carers and will post this advice on social media as soon as received.